Madeira has the
reputation of having the best pelalgic birding in the Western
Palearctic. The island boasts a couple of endemic species and plenty of
endemic subspecies. Although I visited the island on a family holiday I
did do the three day pelalgic trip run by Madeira Wind Birds - a trip
for hard-core birders if there ever was one. The remainder of the time
I did virtually no birding at all.

To see all the
seabirds, and see them well, there is no real
alternative
to the three day pelagic trip (not actually three days at sea but three
day trips returning to land each evening). However, birders unable to
take the trip for whatever reason could take one or more "half day"
whale and dolphin" trips - these produce at least some of the birds -
Cory's, Bulwer's and Fea's Petrels are all possible on these trips.
Indeed, it was on a dolphin trip after the three day pelalgic I
obtained my best views of the Fea's - four birds in a fight with Cory's
over a fish.

Plants and flowers
are quite common as well. You could pick a few flowers or you could
order flowers online from Avas
Flowers. A flower
arrangement can be delivered to your home or office.

Very many of the hotels overlook the sea and if there is one regret
other than taking the next pelalgic trip, when a Black-bellied Storm
Petrel was seen, it is that I did not take a telescope. Seawatching
from the balcony outside our hotel room was quite productive even with
just binoculars. On the mornings I tried seawatching from the balcony I
"only" had hundreds of Cory's - even when using the extender to turn my
bins into a scope. With a bit more wind and / or effort both Fea's and
Bulwer's Petrels would no doubt have been possible.

Zino's
Petrel - one really has
to go to Maderia to see this species

The
trip I took
was effectively from 03 August to 08 August 2011 (with one day
travelling either side of these dates). Itinery was as follows:
03 August: No birding other than a 45 minute seawatch from the hotel
balcony. Canaries, Little Egret, Plain Swift, Kestrel etc
04 August: Swimming in the morning. Pelagic Trip from early afternoon
until late at night
05 August: Swimming in the morning. Pelagic Trip from early afternoon
until late at night
06 August: Swimming in the morning. Pelagic Trip from early afternoon
until late at night
07 August: Walk around Funchal Marina and one of the parks in the
morning (late and with the family). Dolphin trip in the afternoon
08 August: An hour or so birding Funchal marina from 07:00 onwards.
Late morning family trip on the cable car in Funchal

White-faced
Storm-petrel, 05 August
2011, Madeira

The Pelalgic Trip
The birding highlight of the holiday (and the only real reason for
visiting Madeira) was the three day pelalgic trip run by Madeira Wind
Birds. During this trip all the expected species were seen - and seen
well. Zino's and Fea's Petrels were naturally the highlights. The
supporting cast consisted of White-faced, Madeiran and Wilson's Storm
Petrels with the latter species being seen daily.

The commonest species on these trips were Cory's Shearwater and
Bulwer's Petrel which were seen in good numbers each day. Small numbers
of Arctic Terns and a lone Arctic Skua were also seen.

White-faced
Storm-petrel, 05 August 2011, Madeira

Two
essential books for Madeira:

Wilson's Storm Petrel, 05 August 2011, Madeira.

Note
that clicking on any of the images on this page will take you to more
pictures
of each species

Bulwer's
Petrel, August 2011

Cory's
Shearwater, August 2011

The
size
of the beak on this bird indicates beyond doubt that this is a Fea's
Petrel, Madeira, August 2011

Zino's
Petrel, Madeira, August 2011

Above
and below - record shots of Madeiran Storm Petrel

Madeiran Storm
petrel bu Max Berlijn

The
rib boat "Oceanodroma"
used for the pelagic and dolphin trips

Funchal
The marina and harbour at Funchal are a good place to bird - the area
attacts huge numbers of gulls, which with some effort and / or a scope
would no doubt produce results. All I saw in the very little time I
spent birding the area were about 1000 Yellow-legged Gulls and a few
Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

The highlight here was the long staying but often elusive
Yellow-crowned Night Heron. I got the bird at 07:00 before it was even
light. Other stuff in this area were several Little Egrets, Turnstones,
a few Common Sandpiper, Common Terns and the ubiquitous Grey Wagtails.

The parks produced the usual selection of Madeiran birds - Plain
Swifts, Blackcaps, Canaries and Blackbirds.

For birders who still have families taking the cable car is a
worthwhile trip - I spent about half an hour in the area around the top
of the cable car route in the late morning and had plenty of birds
including many Madeiran Firecrests, Robins, Chaffinch, Sparrowhawk and
a larger raptor - probably a buzzard. Walking through the gardens there
or taking a walk further towards the tops would no doubt have produced
more.

Large
numbers of gulls drink from the stream running out onto the shore near
Funchal marina

A
juvenile Yellow-legged Gull with a dead rat, Funchal, August 2011

Pre-dawn
record shot of the long-staying but sometimes elusive Yellow-crowned
Night Heron, Funchal marina, Madeira,August 2011
This is a species I haven't seen since Mobile,
Alabama

Over
1000 Yellow-legged Gulls were present in Funchal harbour on my visit
there. Surely worth working through for those with the 'scope and the
time to do it, August 2011

View of Funchal
from the top cable
car station

Sao
MartinhoOur hotel was in
Sao Martinho (walking distance from Funchal but a taxi cost only 5
Euro). The coast was rather built up but even the walk along the
promenade produced plenty of Canaries, Plain Swifts, Blackcaps,
Kestrels, Common
Terns and Yellow-legged Gulls. Small numbers of Blacbirds and Grey
wagtails were also noted here.

Plain
Swifts gathering to roost, August 2011

Canaries
along the promenade, Sao Martinho, Madeira, August 2011.
(Picture taken with a compact
superzoom camera)

There
were various opportunities for swimming in the sea but this was my
favourite

Quite
possible to seawatch from the hotel balcony - even with just binoculars.

Blackcap
are a very common species in Madeira
Picture taken with a compact
superzoom camera.

Arctic
Skua investigates chum slick, Madeira, August 2011

One
of several Arctic Terns seen on day one of the pelagic trips.

Publications,
information and books

Links to other websites covering Madeira can be found below:

One of the best seawatching websites ever:
And of course the pelagic operators themselves:

White-faced Storm-petrel, 05 August filmed by Max Berlijn

Other
wildlifeMadeira
is a great place for marine mammals - during my stay I didn't really
look for them much. Dolphins were seen regularly (with binoculars) from
the hotel room balcony and further pods of dolphins were encountered
during the pelagic trips. The commonest species were Bottle-nosed and
Spotted Dolphins.
Many species of fish were seen in the sea - the area seems a lot more
productive than, for example, the Mediterranean. One of the trip
highlights was an Ocean Sunfish seen during a dolphin trip.

The only other mammal I saw was a drowned rat (being eaten by a
juvenile Yellow-legged Gull).

Madeiran Lizards are VERY common and extremely variable in both size
and colouration.

Several species of butterfly were seen including the impressive Monarch
butterfly which has colonised the island all the way from the Americas!